holmes



(No Model.) I

G. E. L. HOLMES.

SEWING MACHINE. ea-54,975. mmwtedfmar. 14,1882.

UNITED STATES CHARLES L. HOLMES, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 254,975, dated March14, 1882.

Application filed February 14, 1881. (No model.) Patented in EnglandMarch 17, 1880, in France March 17, 1880, in Belgium March 19, 1880. andin Germany March 25, 1880.

To all whom it may concern of the city, county, and State of New York,have invented certain Improvements in Sewing-Machines,of which thefollowing is a specification. Y

My invention relates to that class of sewingmachines, or attachmentstherefor, which are so constructed as to impart to the needle bothvertical and horizontal reciprocating movements, whereby to make whatare ordinarily termed cat-stitches, or button-hole o overseamingstitches.

My invention consists in certain devices, hereinafter fully described,whereby the desired movements are effected with little friction and withprecision, such devices being so constructed that, if desired, they maybe effectively applied in connection with many ordinary well-known formsof machines with but little alteration of the latter.

In the drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sideview of a sewingmachine illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan ofthe arm and attachments; Fig. 3, a detached view, showing the end of theslidebar; Fig. 4, a detached view, showing the end of the needle-bar andneedle; Fig. 5, a section of the end of the needle-bar Fig. 6, aperspective view,illustrating a needle and holder; Figs. 7, 8, and 9,views showing modified forms of needle bars and holders, Fig. 9 being acrosssection through the needle-bar; Fig. 10, a view in part section ofthe presser foot and bar; Fig. 11. a section on the line 1 2, Fig. 10;Fig. 12, a view illustrating a modification of the needle-slidingappliances.

While the devices which I have invented may be constructed for use withsewing-machines of any character, I have illustrated them in connectionwith an ordinary Singer machine, A being the bed'plate, and B theoverhanging rrn supporting a head, 0, in which are'the resser-foot barDand needle-bar E, deriving its vertical motion from the rotating shaftF, clrrying at the end the fly-wheel G.

Beneath the plate A the shuttle is recipro cated by any suitableappliances in a line parallel to a bar, H, sliding or vibrating at i Ione side of the arm B. The needle to, in place Be it known that I,CHARLES E. L. HOLMES,

of being secured to the needlehar E, is connected to acarrier, I, whichis movable upon the needle-bar in. any suitable manner. As shown inFigs. 1, 2,4, and 5,the needle-bar terminates in an enlargement, B,having a horizontal socket, 00, open at the loweredge, and wider abovesaid edge, adapted to receive a carrier, I, of correspondingform. Thiscarrieris connected to or has its bearing upon the bar Hin such a mannerthat the vibration or reciprocation of said bar will impart areciprocating horizontal movement to the needle; For instance, in Fig. 1a rod,f, projecting horizontally from the rear of the carrier, isprovided with a stop, 0, and the carrier is provided with a stop, 0, andbetween said stops passes a bar, d, projecting vertically from the barH, the reciprocation or vibration of which will cause the. ban (1 toplay between said stops, moving the carrier horizontally back and forth.

The stops 0 e are adjustable. thereby insuring an increased movement tothe carrier in proportion as the stops are brought closer together. Bythe adjustment of said stops the needle may be carried to any desiredhorizontal position at one side or the other of the central line of theneedle-bar, to be reciprocated horizontally in such posit-ion withoutnecessarily varying the extent of its horizontal reciprocation.

The bar may be s.ottcd, as shown in Fig. 3, and the rod fmay extendthrough the slot. An equivalent construction is shown in Fig. 12, wherethe vertical rod d, instead of being fixed to the bar H, is securedfixedly or adjustably to the carrier 1, and extends upward between thescrewstops e 6, adjustable upon the bar H.

Means may be employed for vibrating the bar H upon a pivot at the sideof the arm B, so that it will move once to each complete verticalreciprocation of the needle-bar, or, preferably, the bar H may slide inone direction or the other once with every complete movement of theneedle-bar. In either case thebar H acts directly upon the carrier, andis asimple and effective means of conveying motion from the actuatingdevice to the carrier without the lost motion apt to result, and theirregular work caused by the employment of the usual more complexintermediate devices.

When a sliding bar is used it may be slotted to receive screws 9 g,which serve both as guides and as means of connecting it to the arm B,and in such case I prefer to communicate motion to the bar through themedium of a cam, J, secured to the shaft F, and provided with twogrooves, h h, separated by a rib,j, broken at one point to receive avibrating switch, is.

A stud, m, double-pointed in cross section, constitutes the end of acrank-lever, L, pivoted to the end of the bar H, which lever may beswung so as to carry the stud into one of the grooves of the cam, inwhich it will operate until transferred to the other groove by itscontact with the switch It. By this means the slide is moved once ateach rotation of the shaft, during which time theneedle passes once downand up.

The needle may be secured in the carrier I by means of a set-screw, a,as shown in Figs. 1,4, and 12; but I have found it advantageous to makethe carrier I of soft metal, and-to cast the same directly to the shankof the needle, thereby not only securing a firm attachment, but sofixing the needle in relation to the carrier that no further adjustmentis necessary. This mode of attachment is shown in Fig. 6.

To prevent the needle from being forced out of its position, the carriershould fit as tightly within its socket as possible without creatingsuch friction as would interfere with its movement. To secure thisresult, as well as compensate for wear of the parts, I propose to splitthe needle-bar and provide it with means whereby the split end may beadjusted so in effect as to contract the socket. Thus in Figs.

' 4t and 5 the needle-bar is split at y and ascrew,

12, serves to bring the divided ends upon the carrier with any desiredpressure. Figs. 7, S, and 9 show equivalent constructions where thecarrier is socketed. In Fig. 7 the screw p expands the end of the bar inthe socket of the carrier. In Figs. 8 and 9 the carrier is contractedupon a cylindrical enlargement on the end of the bar, the result beingthe same in all these cases. A like construction may be employed insecuring the presser-foot M to the v presser-foot bar D, which is splitand clamped by a screw, p, to a projection, 8, formed or Cast upon thepresser-foot and adapted to a lateral socket of the said bar, as shownin Fig. 10; but I do not here claim this,asit mayform the subject of aseparate application for Letters Patent.

1 have found that wide cat-stitches, which lie loosely upon the upperface of the cloth, are apt to catch upon the rear edge of the slot 10 ofthe presser-foot. To prevent this I cut away the under side of thepresser-foot at the rear of the slot 20, forming a flat groove, t,through which the stitches may pass without striking the edge of theslot, while the fabric is firmly pressed at the sides against the feeddevice.

While I have described the modes of attaching the needle andpresser-foot in connection with an overseamirig-machine, such modes areequally available in connection with other machines where the needle isto be connected fixedly to the needle-bar, and serve to secure readilythe parts in place without nice adjustment by the operator.

It will be apparent that the construction of devices above described issuch as will permit their ready application to a Singer or other similarmachine without any other alterations than those that can be made by anordinary mechanic, that the operation of the needle is effectedpositively and with accuracy, and that the various adjustments may beread-ilymade.

It will further be seen that by turning the lever L the stud m may bemoved away from the cam J, and the machine instantly converted into aplain-stitch sewing-machine, and that by reversing the operation thecat-stitching may be resumed without further adjustment.

By the arrangement of the movable needle in line with the needle-bar Iam enabled to se cure a more perfect action, as when the needle is setto one side of the bar there is always more or less strain tending todeflect it, and the attachments yield, owing to the greater leverage.The avoiding of any such irregularities is of special importance in thisclass of machines, where the needle must be brought into exact positionin relation to the shuttle at whatever point it may descend. Byextending the rigid bar from the cam to the carrier, and beneath thehead, I am enabled to communicate motion directly to the carrier slidingupon needle-bars which extend through the heads of the machines, and cantherefore secure the advantages resulting from placing the needle inline with the needle-bar. This arrangement further permits the operatingparts to be covered by the head, so that the light silks and finefabricsused to a great extent in ornamental sewing are prevented from cominginto contact with the oiled surfaces, which is not the case when the barand its guides and appurtenances are at the side of the head.

I claim- 1. The combination, in a sewing-machine, of a needle-barsliding in stationary bearings, and extending through and below thehead, a needle-carrier sliding on said bar, a cam, and a rigid barconnected to said carrier beneath the head,and interposed between thecam and carrier and serving as a means of communicating motion directlyfrom one to the other, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the slotted needle-bar carrier holding a needle inline with the needle-bar and extending through said slot, and

appliances, substantially as described for re-' ciprocating the carrier.

3. The combination, with the needle of a sew1ng-machine, of a metal heador carrier cast ICC upon the same and adapted to a socket in the Intestimony whereof I have signed myname part to whichit is to beattached, and to guide to this specification in the presence of twosubthe needle slidin gin said socket, substantially scribing witnesses.as set forth. 5 4. The combination of the needle-bar hav- CHAS. E. L.HOLMES.

ing a transverse socket, open at the under side, formed directly in saidbar, as specified, Witnesses: and a needle-carrier adapted to saidsocket, CHARLES FOSTER, and appliances,substantially as described, forWILLTAM PAXTON.

1o reciprocating said carrier.

